Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-10-20
TIE CITY OF NANTES.
A PEOPLE WHOSE COSTUMES ARE
OF ECCENTRIC DESCRIPTION.

A Refuge from the Artificial Life at ths
French Capitai-A H"meIiks Meal at q
Hotel-PrincipaI BusinesS Street-a
Ro,ali,t's Opinion "t the City
Nantes takes n certain character from
the sea from the fishermen and from al
the queer types Of humanity who dwell
along the coast of this department and oi
Morbihan well on up toward Brcst. Tn,
Costumes Of these people are oi the mos,
eccentric description, 50 much 81 that il is
said that nowhere else in France can ther.
be seen such variety. some are Strik
incly picturesque. There is the peasan,
woman. for instance. whose business il j.
to cultivate early potatoes in the sand
near Noirmuutler and bring them to mar
ket She wears skirt coming just below
the knees. II small cap, some sort Of apron.
checked ,r otherwise, and has III,
foot, ankle and calf entirely exposed. or
shoes or sabots neatly polished and stock.
ings closely fitting and often of intricate
pattern. The shoes and hosiery are rheil
special weakness, snd il is not rare to see
among them n we'll made foot and ankle
! The entire costume l. commonly in sober
colorS and neatly kept. On the contrary,
You see little girls with long skirts com
ing to the solos of the shoe, who look as ii
they had jus; stepped from one Of Van
dykes portraits.
As a specimen of the male costume OF
! Morbihan. we have the low crowned
round topped hat uf velvet or Of straw OF
felt bound with velvet very jaunty, or
/ ~ the French would say. chic. The
!, hn
exterior garment of our ancestors OF the
Seventeenth century, but Il jacket all the
same and gay with rows Of buttons 81
thckly set that they overlap one an,
other The collar Of the shirt is as broad
rs ships mainsail 1t is open i'll front
| and rises stiftiy mp behind the head, serv.
ing rs a back ground Ia a face that is the
! picture Of innocence and ~ quaint aS the
costume itself.
| II is n pleasant relief to get away from
the highly artificial life and the highly ar,
| iiicial articles of food and drink al Paris
| even 10 stupid and not over clcanly place
/ like Nantes. The country offers its treas
! ures more generously than the city. Ii is
please nt Ia know that the wines, if they
are not Clos N"ugcot Pomard. Chateau
| Letite or Chateau Yquen. are at least all
they pretend to he; that you are near the
| place where people produce their own but
| ter and lay their own eggs: where they
| ev.n put the butter on the table and sell
| IN .ir milk at four cents quart from the
wagons in the street and at the corner
| groceries IL is really with n hOmelike
feeling that you sit down 20 breakfast or
| dinner in n hotel in town in Anjou, or
AT the hotel at Nantes on which I be
slowed my humble patronage. The still
hess that pervades the dining room is sol
| emn. Iou hear two or TIN ee flies huzZinC
behind the lace curtains that drape the
windows. You look up to the ceiling not
painted by Michael Angelo. but 10y some
uulmmortalizcd local fresco painter, in
| imitation Of the sky. lou don't rcmen,-
Der ever 10 have seen exactly sUch shades
of blue in the armament before. But nG
matter The chandeliers are attached Ia
the ceiling with blue ribbons painted fiat
thereon, the ends drawn out sideways and
held in the bcakS Of doves. the species
and the school of art being alike unfa-
miliar.
Into the room steal furtivcly from time
to time representatives Of the Nantals
bourgeoise-solid,s solemn, funereal-who
TRANQUILITY partake of the several courses
and then steal away as stealthily as they
entered Perhaps there enters Il whole
Breton family - father. mother, sons,
daughters and bonnc-all of whom make
the sign OF the cross before taking their
places. Their dress is quiet and their
manners almost as reverential as if they
were in church. The repast is served by
the mature garcons-one gray haired
whom you seem family to r-collect as
having seen in the opcf7, of The Hugue-
nots." Their duty is performed decorously
and entirely in keeping with the sur
roundings. There is none of bewRrdage
so often seen at French tables. The
cuisine is rather remarkable for its pro-
fusion than its fine quality. thus reversing
the Partisan rule. Some dishes are even
left on the table where persons can help
themselves. Nothing could he more
un- n-Iarisian. The butter is of n char
Scter TO attract attention. There are
perhaps twenty persons at table com
paratively few persons come to Nantes
and there are four rolls OF golden
butter distributed along the table
each weighing at least a pound. and, like
everything else offered you. il is "a discre
ton Then You drink, if you are dis
posed. q whole bottle of white or rel wine
The hotel is. believe, the best in Nantes,
and your breakfast and dinner cost you
together only five francs a day, while q
good room costs only three francs more.
In coming from Cholet to Nantes made
the acquaintance of a young lawyer of
Pitiers, a royaIist by birth and political
preference and a most charming and in
telligent travelling companion. He said 10
me. Nantes is "A vile de luxe" As
have already remarked, this is not init
mated 10 the stranger. There is nothing
in the houses or shops that would indicate
it. Then rs l met him in the evening he
conducted me through what he said was
the principal business street.-the only
business street in fact-a thoroushfare
narrow and crooked like the rest. half a
mile in length and having on either side
commonplace shops, badly lighted and
with poor displays Of goods in the win
dows. There We're no carriages, but it
was filled with a crowd of promenaders
walking pUrposely TO and fro and look
ing listle>sly into the uninteresting
windows. ~ I have seen them in
the smaller towns of Italy or else
where in Europe. There was nowhere
else To 90. theatres being closed and sum
mer amusements conspicuous by their
absence. The rich were at the watering
places; the poor were amusing themselves
in low drinking houses such as are seen
in the pictures of Temers and Sfeen. OF
types that are universal and have been for
800 years.
There are. however. at Nantes things
that are solid. substantial and elegant in
the way "f art and architecture. The
cathedral and other churches are among
the finest in FEauce. and there are statues
of kings and other celebrities in them. or
here and tftre In avenues and streets
about the city. There is library of 10J.-
600 volumes, and the museum of paint |
:ngs and siatuary, tine finest in France |
outside of Paris and Versailles II is well
worth a visit. | went TO the castle which I!
Is not SO massive and interesting as that |
at Anglers and better preserved ani. from |
the top Of the dungeon tower the concierge |
pointed ont 10 me that great place of the |
famous noyades. one of the most Infamous |
of the revolution.-Albert |
SutliiTc in San Francisco Chronicle.